Tutorial: Frosty De-boss

I will be honest with you, I worry sometimes that I am going to run out of ideas to share on Tuesday Tutorials. All weekend I sat and wondered what to share. I was clueless. When it came time to sit down on Monday I still didn’t have a direction so I just pulled out a few supplies and started tinkering. An idea finally came to me and so I set to work on it. Strange thing though, rather than follow my idea I took a right turn for no reason and came up with something totally different, something I think is really very cool. I hope you will agree.

At first look, it is hard to see what is really unique about this tag. But when you look closer. . .

You will see that the snow flake designs are de-bossed (recessed) into the surface and filled with frosty crackle. Hopefully you can see that just the de-bossed areas are filled in with the crackle, the flat surface is just sparkly with glaze.

Even though I used snowflakes, you could do this with any texture folder. I am wishing I had thought of it before Halloween because I think it would have been a cool technique for Halloween tags.

To start, you need to build the background of your tag. For my tag, I started by swiping on some Faded Jeans Distress Stain. I left areas of the manila tag uncovered because I really like the streaked look. Although I didn’t show it here, I added a few light streaks of Chipped Sapphire along the edges and bottom.

After drying the tag with my Heat It Craft Tool, I streaked on Picket Fence Distress Stain.

After drying the tag, I misted it generously with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist. You might notice that I use Biscotti a lot. I really love the full line of Perfect Pearls Mists, but this one is my go-to favorite. If you can only afford a couple in your stash, make sure this is one of them. It goes with everything and adds such a pretty shimmer.

After drying the tag again, I applied Evergreen Boughs Distress Ink to the edges of the tag with an ink blending tool.

I placed my tag in a Texture Fade folder. Generally, the wider side would be on top so that you would get a raised image. I wanted to my images to be sunk into (de-bossed) into the tag so I used it with the wide side down.

This is how the tag looked after running it through my machine. Even without adding anything more to the snowflakes they are really prominent on the background. One word of caution if you use a folder with text or something like clock faces to de-boss, the text designs are designed for embossing so they de-boss backwards.

After embossing, apply Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle paint over the entire surface of the tag. Apply it thick enough so that it fills in the de-bossed areas.

Use a scrap of chipboard with a straight edge so scrape over the surface of the tag from top to bottom (like a window squeegee). The paint will make the tag surface soft so using something hard like a scraper or stamp block will dig in and damage the tag surface. The chipboard is soft and will remove the excess paint without taking the paper with it.

After scraping the surface, the paint will stay in the de-bossed areas but the raised flat surfaces will be “clean”. What is left on the raised area will be a thin (if any) light glaze.

You can let the crackle air dry or speed things up with a heat tool.

I love, love, love the way the dried crackle looks in the de-bossed areas. (Click on this photo so you can see the large version and see the detail.)

You might be thinking that you should be able to apply the paint to just the de-bossed areas rather than over the whole surface. . . you could, but I don’t think you will like it. Scraping the paint off of the surface also removes some color, if you apply the paint only to the de-bossed areas and then scrape, it will create a kind of a halo around each shape where it has removed color. By applying the paint over the whole surface, it keeps the tag color consistent from top to bottom.

To add to the tag, I stamped over the dried crackle with a text stampe. The dried crackle acts like a resist so that the stamped image goes onto the background but not on the snowflake.

Next, I misted the tag with Perfect Pearls Mist again. The mist fills into the cracks and the glazing. I stamped with Distress Ink which reacts with the liquid in the mist so the stamped image softened a bit. I really like a background text like this one to be soft and not stong and crisp.

To add another layer and more color, I stamped an evergreen image along the edges with Evergreen Bough Distress Ink.

To embellish my tag, I added a manila cardstock tattered banner. I brushed it with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to add color.

To add shimmer so that it coordinated with the tag, I misted it with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist. After misting it generously, I blotted the banner with a dry cloth and then dried it with a heat tool.

I then added a second layer of distress ink along the edges.

Finally, I added a phrase to the banner with Jet Black Archival Ink.

To give the banner extra dimension, fan fold the tails of the banner to the back. To create dimension and hold the folds in place, I used dimensional adhesive dots in the folds and on the back. Adhere the banner to the tag front about an inch above the bottom edge.

I embellished around the banner with paper flowers, greenery, and embellishments. To help tie the flowers into the tag, I misted them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls. I adhered the flowers and greenery to the tag, tucking them under and around the banner.

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Comments

I love your art….I just pinned your tag and then thought maybe you did not want people to do that…do I need to get permission from you to pin to my Pinterest board? Sorry if I over stepped…..this tag is gorgeous!!!!!!

Tammy, this is brilliant! Debossing + crackle = a gorgeous and elegant vintage look, and along with the colors and embellishments, you’ve created absolute wintertime perfection! Thanks for the great ideas. I don’t think you’ll ever run out of them– you’re far too creative for that well to run dry.

This tag is gorgeous! I just love the de-bossed, sparkled, crackled snowflakes! I will definitely have to try this technique since I am a huge fan of embossing folders. Your ideas just keep flowing… THANK YOU!

I guess you don’t need to sweat it anymore about your Tuesday tutorials, Tammy 🙂 Just sitting down to “play” results in something spectacular! Absolutely love this technique…and awesome step by step photos! wow.

Tammy – Gorgeous tag! I’m so excited and will try it tonight. Thank you so much, too, for the wonderful tutorial. That’s WHY I can go home and try it tonight.
Please feel free to repeat earlier blogs when you’re worried you’re out of ideas. Your tutorials are invaluable.
Thanks,
Marjan

Very pretty tag! I like the technique, and you answered a question that popped in my head, which was why not just paint the crackle paint on the snowflakes. You said it makes little halos around the snowflake area. Glad you went there, or I would have probably taken the short cut. Thanks for the idea!

I love the de-bossed look and crackle look -you are amazing.
Can’t ever imagine you running out of ideas. You are a walking, talking wealth of information to a lot of us.
Thanks for always sharing the extra details and hints.

I LOVE this technique – your tag turned out sooo beautiful – just got some picket fence distress stain, eager to try it out. Today is the first day I’ve seen one of your tutorials, was directed to your site by Tim Holtz’s reference to it – I will definately be checking in again! Thanks for the inspiration!!

Really pretty–really smart! Wish I had one of those machines that emboss/cut, etc. I have used the crackle paint (though not rock candy) and also Ranger’s “crackle accents” which are fun. It seems the advantage of rock candy is it’s easier to apply and has a matt finish. Your post has inspired me to try some. Thanks!

First time visiting your blog. I got here by way of Tim Holtz’s blog. He posted that you had come up with an awesome technique for the crackle paint and he wasn’t kidding! This looks fabulous!! Love, love, love it! Gotta’ run and check out my embossing folders to see what I can use to duplicate this technique! Beautiful work!!

I just subscribed to your blog after seeing Tim H’s. mention of you and I’m so excited to see your work.
I’m awed! This technique is the first really new technique to come around in awhile and your tag is gorgeous. You are a creative genius! Truly creative. I can’t wait to spend some dedicated time looking around your blog. Thank you!

Followed Tim’s blog link to get here and WOWZA, am I glad I did! LOVE this technique! The end result is so very cool! T so much FS! I am buying some of the PP Biscotti. I have the other supplies on hand. 🙂

Wow! I wish I could purchase all the items I do’t already have and start making tags/cards like the one you made! I wouldn’t try it if not for your instuctions. Ah, homework first the CREATIVE PLAY time!

Wow! When you tinker…you do it 100%!! I don’t think I have ever seen so many different products in
one project…and a small project at that! I wish I could get in your brain and just see how the order of adding things comes to you…amazing!
This came out wonderfully! I love each of the details seperately…and how you put them all together! Stunning!
He IS Able!
Traci S.

This is my first time here. Tim send me. 🙂 this technique is very cool, and the tag is gorgeous!
However, the scrapping wastes all that rock candy paint. is there a way to scrap it off onto another project to use it and not waste it. Not many of us are on sponsor ships, and have to buy our products. I for one am on disability, which isn’t much, so wasting anything is never good.
I am a follower, and will try to get here each Tuesday, as you describe things very well, and give excellent directions!
Thanks, Susan